Investigated Online? What Would They Find?

As part of their business process, many companies perform an internet background check and a social media investigation. They want to do their due diligence before making any decisions.

The objective is to get a picture of the online reputation and general web presence of their prospects. The online check often is in addition to personal and professional background checks.

There are companies now specializing in combing through the social media landscape. The focus is on digging up any potentially damaging or unfavorable information on the person being researched.

Most companies provide a general review of your online presence: locating your social media accounts, blogs, online profiles and email addresses you use.

But upon request, some companies go beyond the basics and can provide a more custom, in-depth social media investigation and deep research of your presence on the internet.

Why do companies spend time and money retrieving this information? But more importantly, what does it mean for you?

Why Do They Want To Know?

Certainly, background checks are nothing new. They’ve been utilized for many years in areas as diverse as:

Traditional pre-employment screening

Rental applications

Mortgage and Loan industry

Military background checks and reviews

Professional licensing

Hospital and insurance credentialing

Background check on politicians

Legal review for custody cases, divorces, lawsuits, or business partnerships

When these companies start an online investigation, they use a variety of search tools… with Google being the starting place.

Next is social media.

Through compiling a profile of your social media presence, they can provide a lot of data about you, including:

who you connect with online

your social affiliations

your hobbies and interests

your political views

your family status

your buying behaviors

what you have done professionally in the past

what you have done privately in the past

Since companies are looking for a competitive edge, today many include social media investigations to their arsenal of background checks.

However, there are some questions about the validity and effectiveness of social media investigations.

Arguments against the practice include:

social media searches are prone to false positives

they can be discriminatory

they can be irrelevant

they may be a violation of terms and conditions of many social media sites

While the debate around social media investigation continues, some states have passed legislation to make social media investigations illegal. However, most states don’t prohibit the practice at this time.

What Does It Mean To You?

Personally, I find the idea of being snooped on, someone eavesdropping on my interactions with friends and colleagues a bit disturbing.

But at the same time, it brings home the fact that any online interaction is anything but private.

Far from it!

Once you understand your online footprint and realize the potential implications, perhaps you want to change your online behavior.